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49ers pennants on the walls, a Colin Kaepernick draped over their torsos and the television clicker ready to be punched on the opening day of free agency – what can die-hard 49ers fans expect when free agency dawns Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PST?

A whole lot of nothing. The Trent Baalke era of the 49ers has been marked by two things – solid drafts and bargain buys in free agency. That’s why fans should not expect the team to do much of anything in the first few days and maybe even the first few weeks of free agency this year.

Almost by definition, teams overpay when the free agent market opens. That’s why good teams rarely engage in the first days of free agency.

The 49ers strategy is to extend offers to their impending free agents, and the player can either agree or test the market. This year, the 49ers offers to players like safety Donte Whitner, cornerback Tarell Brown and kicker Phil Dawson might have been low out of necessity.

With the expected release of cornerback Carlos Rogers, the 49ers will be $16 million under the salary cap according to overthecap.com. However, CSN Bay Area reports that about $7 million will be devoted to the rookie class, leaving little left to re-sign players.

It means the 49ers could be filling their possible vacancies at cornerback and strong safety with rookies or bargain options late in free agency.

So those expecting the big splashy signing when free agency opens, it would be best to put down the TV remote and slowly walk away.